Stories for 31 March 2006
Leisure
Theatre March
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Educating Rita at the Conquest Theatre, Bromyard, has only two performances left, tonight (Friday) and tomorrow.
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Footballers' Wives star Julie Legrand is coming to Malvern Theatres in the classic wartime comedy See How They Run - and she can't wait to "rattle round the hills".
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MARCH 31
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APRIL 1
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tonight
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APRIL 1-may 4
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MARCH 31
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BARE torsos, masks and body paint - not features immediately typical of a troop of morris dancers. Bearded men bouncing around with sticks on the village green is the more common image associated with the ancient dance.
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YOUNG dancers from 30 schools across the county are set to perform in a contemporary show at Worcester's Swan Theatre.
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A NEW dance show coming to Malvern is billed as "vigorous and intricate choreography combined with a strong sense of musicality".
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George Clooney stars in the thriller Syriana (PG) at Malvern Cinema for a week from tonight (Friday), daily at 7.30pm, and at 4pm on Saturday, Sunday and Thursday. more...
LOCAL bands are invited to apply to play at this summer's CAMRA beer and cider festival at Worcester racecourse. All styles of music are welcome. Call 01905 421285 for more information. more...
PUPILS from King Charles I High School, Kidderminster perform at the Elgar Birthplace Museum, Lower Broadheath on Thursday at 7.30pm. Tickets are £4 from 01905 333224. more...
SINGERS Carol Lee Sampson and Tyler Massey perform at the Three Kings, Hanley Castle on Sunday at 8.45pm. Admission is free. more...
The Brannelly Family is putting on a night of musical entertainment at Malvern Rugby Club tomorrow (Saturday) at 7.30pm.
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WORCESTER mezzo-soprano Catherine King is soloist for a Worcester Festival Choral Society performance at the city cathedral tomorrow (Saturday) at 7.30pm. The singers will perform Elgar's The Kingdom supported by the Orchestra of St John's from London. Tickets are £4 to £20 from 01905 611427. more...
THIS spectacular and dramatic production of Romeo and Juliet is imaginatively conceived.
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NEARLY 20 years ago new-wave metal band Cynic rocked with the best of them, playing to scores of fans and influencing the likes of Metallica.
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ONE FOR THE MONEY
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A group of Ledbury teenagers are exhibiting a collection of photographs exploring drug issues in their community at The Courtyard, Hereford.
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The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, has a varied programme for April. On Sunday at 7.30pm is The Meat Loaf Story, a musical tribute to the American rocker. Tickets cost £14.50. On Wednesday at 7.30pm is I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls, a play about an Irish wake for a `mad' woman, exploring her life story. Tickets cost £9.50 adults, £6 students. On Friday, April 7 at 7.30pm, Magic of Ireland, is an evening of traditional Irish dance, music and song. Tickets are £15.50 on 01684 295074. more...
THE Elgar Society will hold an event at the Elgar Birthplace Museum tomorrow (Saturday) at 2.30pm. Pianist Iain Farrington will be introducing and playing the piano version he has recently made of Elgar's Third Symphony, as realised from the composer's sketches by Anthony Payne. There will be a few tickets available for non-society members from Ernie Kay 01684 567917. more...
OLD pictures of Callow End and Powick go on show at Callow End Village Hall on Saturday and Sunday, April 8-9. Majorie and Peter Harris have compiled the display to help raise funds for the building. The exhibition runs from 10am to 6pm each day and refreshments and a raffle are running alongside it. Entry is £1. more...
THE chance to visit a Malvern garden open for nearly three decades as part of the National Garden Scheme will become rarer as the year goes on.
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THE new comedy season at The Marrs Bar, Worcester continues on Thursday, April 6 with Jason Wood and James Dowdeswell.
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THE award-winning Henri Oguike Dance Company is coming to Malvern Theatres on Tuesday (April 4).
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A CELEBRATION of one of the great names in Malvern's cultural history is a highlight of the new season at the town's museum.
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MALVERN audiences may get their last chance to see the world famous Moscow State Circus when it arrives next week.
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News
LET us, for just a moment, consider Britain's destiny had Cromwell's Ironsides not so decisively trounced Charles Stuart's exhausted Scots at Powick Hams and Sidbury Gate on September 3, 1651.
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SIR - What a lovely, caring and thoughtful person we have in George Cowley. For many years I have read his letters - sorry rantings - in the local press and have managed to control my urge to respond.
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SIR - In view of Tony Blair's determination to fragment and create divisions in society, may I echo Bob Churchill's concerns over the Government's new Education Bill and congratulate him on his campaign against faith schools in particular (Worcester News, March 15). The religious indoctrination of our children in schools, cunningly disguised as `fact', is nothing less than Government sanctioned child abuse. Surely to goodness vulnerable children should have the right of protection under law not to be manipulated by teachers in such an underhand and dishonest manner. Like Mr Churchill, I too know that faith schools will only ever serve to feed sectarianism, intolerance and hate in society. Please let us keep religion in the home and the church Mr Blair, and well away from our classrooms.
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SIR - The lavish praise heaped on the Worcester Royal is surely well deserved, but this sadly cannot be extended to their car parking system.
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SIR - I read with interest your article about Saturday's seal cull protest, which I witnessed.
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SIR - I've just received my standing order payments for the next year from Severn Trent. It has gone up more than 350 per cent. At this rate we should have more than the £12 rebate. I am in two minds whether to pay the water bill or buy a peerage.
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SIR - Local councils, like governments, are notoriously adept at chucking other people's hard earned cash away on grandiose schemes or self-indulgent frivolities. So our glorious leaders tart up County Hall while leaving our roads to degenerate into pot-holed cart tracks. Meanwhile, our government is prepared to blow millions on the ludicrous ID card scheme while many pensioners cannot afford to turn on their heating.
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SIR - May I convey my warmest thanks and congratulations to the Great Witley Operatic Society, and Malvern Light Opera Society for their recent superb productions of the Mikado and My Fair Lady.
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SIR - I agree with your leader (March 13) that "the overwhelming majority of youngsters are decent kids."
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100 years ago
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THERE will be a change of tune later this month from the clock at Malvern Priory, the Gazette reported 25 years ago.
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MALVERN Police Court heard a tale of a highway robbery with violence, according to the Malvern News 100 years ago.
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PREPARATIONS were well underway for the opening of the new library, according to the Malvern News 100 years ago.
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THE Noah's Ark Trust is organising a dinner with an exotic auction of promises at Eastnor Castle on Friday, May 19. Tickets cost £75 from Sue Smith on 01905 745745.
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THE chairman of a long-established Stourport-on-Seven football club has vowed not to be beaten after vital equipment was torched in a suspected arson attack.
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A TEENAGE county racing driver is set to compete at some of the most famous circuits in the world.
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A VILLAGE first school has been praised by Government inspectors.
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ALL women love a man in uniform and 72-year-old Irene Holloway is no exception.
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A SHARED loved of dancing has helped a Worcester couple stay married for 50 years.
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TAXI fare rises across the Wychavon district were given the thumbs-up by councillors in a matter of minutes.
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PERCY Gormley, a popular and well-known Worcester piano-accordion player, has died at the age of 82.
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BRIGHT colours and state-of-the-art sports facilities are helping Elgar Technology College reach out into the Worcester community.
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THE parapet on the city's main bridge over the River Severn is still broken and crumbling - almost five months after a bus crashed into it - but council chiefs say it hasn't been forgotten.
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TWO Worcester community support officers successfully managed to do a three-legged walk through the city in aid of charity - and amazingly they never fell over.
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BAGS of uncollected rubbish are lining Worcester streets after a one-day strike by council workers.
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FIRST-time buyers in Worcester will be left fighting over just 47 new affordable homes, despite a multi-million cash boost from the Government.
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ANGRY nurses claim they are being unfairly victimised by health chiefs in a bid to rid the county's hospitals of debt.
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STREETS that ran red with blood during the Battle of Worcester could become a major tourist attraction.
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YEARS ago, in a Britain that now seems impossibly far off, the great debate in many a public house or drawing room might have been concerned with the subject of communism.
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A FORMER top Army soldier has been appointed as the new chief executive of St Richard's Hospice.
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MALVERN'S `highest' church will mark its 150th anniversary with a £10,000 building project.
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WINNERS of the Platinum Awards, celebrating the excellence, innovation and success of local firms, will be announced next month.
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Two schools have been told to do more to encourage pupils who are high achievers.
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RAW sewage flooded the cellar of a house on Worcester Road, Malvern, when a main sewer became blocked.
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FINES for parking illegally in council car parks may drive people to park illegally on the street instead, says a town resident.
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Malvern will host a civic reception to celebrate the success of its Commonwealth mountain bike champion Liam Killeen.
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Classical music may not hold the same universal mainstream appeal that it once did, but everyone who has Malvern's interests at heart should be concerned for the future of the ESO.
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FROM leaky taps to laundry or a dog needing a walk, a new skills bank could help banish everyday problems for Pickersleigh residents.
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A STRIKE by hundreds of council employees caused disruption on Tuesday, particularly at one local school.
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A NEW £3 million medical centre was officially opened in Malvern on Friday.
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THE NHS funding crisis means plans for a new Malvern hospital will be put on hold unless a private company can be found to invest, a public meeting was told.
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A disabled Malvern man led security staff on a chase on his mobility scooter after stealing items from a supermarket.
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A nail gun stolen from a construction site in Malvern on Sunday night could kill someone, police have warned.
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PROPOSALS for a housing development at Malvern Community Hospital's Lansdowne Crescent site, after a new hospital is built, will be considered by district councillors on Tuesday.
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AN inquest was opened into a man's death after a shooting near the Cottage in the Wood Hotel, Malvern Wells.
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PUBLIC toilets in Malvern, Upton and Tenbury could remain open if Malvern Hills District Council reverses a decision.
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LITTER is something that comes up in the Malvern Gazette quite often. The complaints are not justified, since everyone creates litter one way or another.
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A deputy head has been appointed at Malvern St James.
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WHAT an odd comment by Jenny Mitchell (Your Letters, March 24) that the debate on the inability to hear part of a play at the Malvern Theatres "almost kept dog mess of the letters' page".
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MALVERN town centre will be given the `wow factor' if a 26ft sculpture of buzzards is approved for Rose Bank Gardens.
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DO other readers feel Court Road is a very dangerous place for pedestrians?
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ADMINSTRATORS of the ESO's affairs are preparing to review the future of this year's prestigious Elgar Festival.
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I HAVE been watching with some concern the work progressing to clear the Malvern Hills of coarse shrubs and trees in order to return them to the barren grazed state of yesteryear.
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VIOLINIST Nigel Kennedy has added his voice to the campaign to save Malvern's English Symphony Orchestra as it battles to raise £20,000 to survive.
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If the Master's House at St Katherine's, Ledbury, is left unused and boarded up, then sooner or later it will become even more of an eyesore and be fit only for demolition.
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HERE we go again! Yet another of Ledbury's old buildings is going to be left to fall into ruin.
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WE do not possess the inborn pure thought regime that Mr E Clarke demands of us regarding toys, colours and history etc (Your Letters, March 13).
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RECENT press, television and cinema portrayals of the treatment of prisoners by the US at Camp Delta in Guantanamo Bay add emphasis to the need to continue to press for the closure of the prison.
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THE letter from Clive Smith (Your Letters, March 24) was most interesting.
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HAS Coun Raine (Your Letters, March 17) misunderstood the district council's function? I thought we paid our Council Tax so the council could provide us with the services we want, in the way we want them to be provided.
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It is very sad your paper and the general public have to carry out a witch-hunt, naming and shaming individual councillors and political parties, when unpleasant decisions have had to be taken.
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There is an easy answer to the toilet controversy in Malvern. No town with any self respect (let alone one claiming to attract visitors) should be proposing closure of toilets.
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I WAS at the meeting on Friday about the health of Malvern.
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Friday evening's public meeting about local health services in Malvern was a triumph for the oratory of bureaucrats, who appear to be totally unchecked by our community leaders.
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I was very sorry to read of the financial problems of the ESO which could well result in it closing down.
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The Fabulous Boogie Boys and The Barflys will perform a fundraising gig for Upton Blues Festival at the Memorial Hall tomorrow (Saturday) at 7.30pm. Tickets are £8 from Ye Olde Anchor Inn.
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A former businessman who sparked a terrifying six-hour pub siege has been given a three-year community rehabilitation order.
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Upton will be going for gold again this year with the launch of the town's Britain in Bloom effort.
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TRIBUTES have been paid to Judge Michael Mott who retired yesterday after 12 years sitting at Worcester Crown Court.
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A Worcester funeral director is hoping to scale new heights by building an Easter egg mountain higher than "The Three Peaks" - and all for a good cause.
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Mea culpa! The Rev. Carl Attwood's address last Sunday was the second last, not the last as stated here, of the series of Lenten Journey services at St James's Church.
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ROSEMARY Wells led the family service for Mothering Sunday at St Peter's Church, Powick. The readings, which described the customs associated with Mother's Day and the tradition of eating Simnel cake, were read by children of St James' junior church - Sally Green, Anna Warburton, Joe Lippett, Nicola and Louisa Sandy, Hannah Whittle-Williams and teacher Peggy Wilkinson.
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THANKS are expressed to all who supported Daffodil Sunday at Madresfield Court gardens. The event was blessed with good weather and even if there were fewer daffodils out due to the cold spring, the crocuses of all colours were spectacular.
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COLWALL branch of the Royal British Legion (women's section) will be holding a jumble sale tomorrow (Saturday) at the Legion Club. Doors open at 2.30pm and the admission charge is 20p. If you have any jumble and you would like it collected, please telephone 540577 or 540024 or it can be brought to the club on the morning of the sale, from 10am. All proceeds will go to the women's section benevolent fund.
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OVER £435 was raised at the jumble sale. Thank you to the team for their effort in preparing for the sale and to all those who supported.
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AN exhibition of old pictures of Callow End and Powick is being held on April 8-9, 10am-6pm at Callow End Village Hall. See pictures of how Callow End inhabitants lived during the last century. Entry is £1 and raffle tickets and refreshments will be on sale, proceeds for the hall funds. Details on (01905) 830628. more...
PARISH Hall 100 Club draw prizes for February: £20 H Horton, £10 E Clutterbuck, £5 G Box, E Clutterbuck and P Parry.
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SCHOOLS in Herefordshire are analysing the results of tests taken by 14-year-olds which reveal a mixed picture of attainment across the county.
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Sport
MALVERN'S Midland Alliance championship hopes took a nose-dive after a dominant half-hour before the break saw them take a deserved lead.
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FORMER All Black star Carlos Spencer has been passed fit for Northampton in tomorrow's European Challenge Cup showdown with Worcester (3pm).
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MALVERN Town had their Harvey World Travel Midland Alliance lead cut to just one point after they were held to a draw at Oadby on Saturday.
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DANNY McDonnell could be out for the rest of Worcester City's season after scans showed he broke a finger at Hednesford.
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ADAM Webster reckons it's time to stop blaming the St George's Lane pitch and get down to halting a miserable run of home results against Alfreton tomorrow.
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BARNARDS Green Cricket Club is taking part in the Nat West Cricket Force weekend on Saturday and Sunday, April 8-9.
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LEIGH and Bransford Colts U13s are looking for players to join a new team.
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THE next meeting of the Mercian Festival Junior Football League will be on Sunday (April 2) at the Bell Inn, St Johns, Worcester, starting at 8pm.
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THE Mercian Festival Junior Football League will hold a mini soccer fun day for its U8 teams tomorrow (Saturday) at Battenhall Road, Worcester, home of Worcester Wizards, kicking-off at noon.
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THIS Mercian Festival League local derby match attracted a good crowd.
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WEST Malvern return to Worcester League division one action tomorrow (Saturday) when they entertain Bromsgrove Corinthians.
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WORCESTERSHIRE FA in conjunction with the County Sports Partnership active sports programme is running a women's only FA level two coaching course at a cost of £120 per person.
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A THOROUGHLY entertaining game ended in defeat for Anchor Falcons, but they played their part and felt a little hard done by the final scoreline.
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THIS second against third in the Worcester Saturday League premier division table clash didn't start well for Powick.
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POWICK bounced back well following dropped Worcester Sunday league division one points the previous week, with a comprehensive win over St Johns.
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THE top-of-the-table clash in thesoccersite.co.uk Malvern League at Bosbury saw leaders Bell Inn 98 suffer a blow when third-placed visitors Cross Keys completed the double over them with a late winner.
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RANGERS travelled to the Coors Stadium, Ludlow to play fellow strugglers Ludlow Town and returned empty-handed from a game they should have at the very least shared the spoils.
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POINT-to-point enthusiasts have a busy weekend with meetings tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday.
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EX-WORLD champion speedway rider Peter Collins, MBE, will present the prizes at the annual Red Marley classic motorcycle hill climb.
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HAVING put together a six-game winning Midlands Two West sequence at home, Malvern went to struggling Leamington seeking a first win on the road.
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MALVERN Town had their Harvey World Travel Midland Alliance lead cut to just one point after they were held to a draw at Oadby on Saturday.
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MALVERN Rugby Club won their first away Midlands Two West game of the season on Saturday and further eased their relegation battle.
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ALTHOUGH Mark Yates was more than likely considering wholesale changes to his Kidderminster Harriers side to face Stevenage Borough tomorrow anyway, his hand may well have been forced by a catalogue of injuries.
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MALVERN RFC
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SATURDAY
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A STRONG and gusty south west wind greeted the members of Arden Sailing Club (Defford) for the last race in the spring handicap series.
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CO-FOUNDERS of IMA Tae Kwon Do, Kevin Summers and Graham Lambert, presented their first seminar of 2006 with a superb display of Hapkido conducted by Master Kim Beom 7th Dan from the World Hapkido Federation.
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THE EGGS Golf and Gambling Society started the Welsh leg of their British tour when they visited LLandridnod Wells last weekend.
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A VETERAN rider won the Malvern cycling club VC Sevale's open 10-mile time trial based at Severn Stoke on Saturday.
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ENGLAND Netball have had a major restructuring and as a result, the English Counties League will be no more.
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MALVERN Ladies visited Harborne fourths in the Worcestershire Ladies' Hockey League division two at Smethwick Sport Centre on Saturday.
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WORCESTERSHIRE Golf Club's Terry Goode hit a driver and a seven wood in a Texas Scramble at the club to record a two at the 502-yard par five 16th hole.
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LEDBURY swimmers are celebrating their best ever county championships having completed an arduous weekend at Worcester pool.
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THE U12 lacrosse team at Malvern Girls' College have had a very successful season culminating in winning the Welsh Rally at the weekend at Haberdashers' Monmouth School.
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IT'S been the year of the cat in division two of the Brewin Dolphin Malvern Table Tennis League, with Pumas and Lions finishing in the top two places.
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UPTON experienced a `first' in their 25 years with a female official in charge for this crucial top-end-of-the-table match, with real bearing on the race to a play-off place.
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PAUL West admits nothing less than victory will do tomorrow as Evesham United face Northwood in a relegation six-pointer (3pm).
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AHEAD of tomorrow's Southern League Division One West trip to Paulton Rovers (3pm), Rod Brown has admitted he never knows what to expect from his inconsistent Brosmgrove players from one game to the next.
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ALTHOUGH Mark Yates was more than likely considering wholesale changes to his Kidderminster Harriers side to face Stevenage Borough tomorrow anyway, his hand may well have been forced by a catalogue of injuries.
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TONY James insists automatic promotion is dead in the water following the crushing derby defeat to Kidderminster Harriers.
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ADAM Webster reckons it's time to stop blaming the St George's Lane pitch and get down to halting a miserable run of home results against Alfreton tomorrow.
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FORMER King's School Wor-cester student Seb Pearce is all set to cox the Oxford crew in tomorrow's 152nd University Boat Race.
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FORMER All Black star Carlos Spencer has been passed fit for Northampton in tomorrow's European Challenge Cup showdown with Worcester (3pm).
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DANNY McDonnell could be out for the rest of Worcester City's season after scans showed he broke a finger at Hednesford.
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IT may have hurt to watch, but there was a degree of inevitability about the defeat in Sunday's match at Saracens!
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